I recently interviewed Susan Edwards, the COO of Ellora’s Cave, about news that the publisher is about to launch its own ereader device. Dubbed the ECave C71, the ereader is a Chinese-made LCD model that will be branded by the publisher and sold directly to customers. Like the genres of romance, sci-fi and fantasy, erotica [...]
devices
Want to see ConsumerReports.org’s ereader reviews and ratings? Free access today only
Consumer Reports is one of the original paywall publications, and for good reason—they don’t take outside advertising or have corporate sponsors, and they are complete geeks when it comes to thoroughly testing every product they review. (Believe me, I’ve visited their home office before.) Because of this, it’s nearly impossible to find the details of [...]
Are readers growing more concerned about DRM? (Please?)
A highly informal survey hints that maybe DRM’s biggest enemy is the growing popularity of ebooks — the more you read, the more likely you are to be annoyed by lending and platform restrictions.
Kindle 3 pre-orders sold out; next wave ships September 4th
Just a quick note that both the $189 and $139 Kindle 3 models are now listed as sold out on Amazon.com, even though they don’t ship until August 27th. Amazon now says that new pre-orders will ship “on or before September 4th,” a week later. Is demand that strong, or was there just a small [...]
Amazon announces $139 Kindle
Today Amazon put an end to months of rumors, and announced two new versions of its 6″ Kindle. The $189 model is similar to the Kindle 2 but includes Wi-Fi as well as 3G connectivity. It’s also slightly smaller and 15% lighter than the Kindle 2, has a slightly modified button layout, and uses the [...]
Why I returned my Pandigital Novel
Last weekend, I posted that I’d bought a new Pandigital Novel for $130 ($170 – coupon – mail-in-rebate), then hacked it to run Kindle for Android. Although I was excited by the prospect of a cheap full color Kindle tablet, I complained about the somewhat glitchy software and performance. And now I don’t own it [...]
SmartPlanet is giving away a free Kindle
The website SmartPlanet, which covers “energy, science and tech news,” is giving away a free Kindle 2. To enter, you have to visit this contest page and sign up for their weekly newsletter. The fine print says you may unsubscribe at any time. SmartPlanet Kindle Giveaway [SmartPlanet.com]
Kindle still on top in latest Consumer Reports tests
With so many ebook devices from both new and established companies hitting the market this year, I keep waiting for Amazon’s Kindle to slip from the top spot. According to Consumer Reports, however, it’s still the best bang for your buck. In its July 2010 issue, the magazine looked at the following devices: Kindle 2 [...]
The iPad: a beautiful ebook reader for people with strong arms
For the second time since it went on sale, I got a chance to spend a lot of time with an iPad earlier this week. I still think it’s gorgeous, and I still love that it’s using the iPhone operating system. If I can ever afford one, I’ll be creating all sorts of cartoons, movies, [...]
Thinking of buying a Kindle? Wait until August
So here’s the latest round of news/rumors on the Kindle: last week, Bloomberg announced that two anonymous people confirmed there will be a thinner, faster Kindle released in August. It won’t have a color screen or use touchscreen technology, but you might be able to slice bread with it. (Seriously, the Kindle is thin enough [...]
Amazon introduces two more Kindle apps
The wait is over for Mac users–last week, Amazon released its Kindle for Mac, so Apple computer owners can now enjoy the (for now at least) low prices of ebooks from the Kindle store. But wait there’s more! Today Amazon previewed its Kindle app for the forthcoming Apple iPad, which offers color photos embedded within [...]
Next up for Kindle: Android devices
So far we’ve got access to the Amazon Kindle ecosystem on the iPhone and iPod Touch, Windows PCs, Blackberry devices, and naturally Kindles. Next up appears to be devices running Android, the operating system Google developed mainly for smartphones, although other types of gadgets are starting to make use of it too. The biggest impact [...]
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